Mamma Mia's Skopelos: Glossa was glorious!

Hi Everyone, I hope you are all well? I'm on the summer holiday break from teaching now and we just got back from 2 wonderful, relaxing weeks in Glossa, an authentic Greek hilltop village on the 'emerald' island of Skopelos.

Skopelos was where quite a lot of Mamma Mia was filmed (you might recognise a few locations, including the church!)

We flew to Skiathos and took a boat over. The cottage where we stayed was called 'Hilltop Cottage' and had the most spectacular views over the Aegean Sea. These are the Sporades Islands, sometimes called the 'Gates of the Wind'. It was incredibly hot, there was no wind! Occasionally a welcome breeze though. We took the local bus along the coast to different beaches; Panormos & Kastani were particularly lovely.

There were lots of cats on the island and two which visited us every day & seemed very much at home. There were falcons, (Eleanor's Falcons), which flew during the day & evening over the valley of olive trees below our cottage. There were donkeys in Glossa (the path ways, steps and streets are cobbled without cars). Lots of butterflies, lizards, the small Skopelos owl which hooted every evening and teeny bats in the night sky.

For swimming, the sea water was crystal clear and a welcome break to cool off. There were hardly any people on beaches until about lunchtime, which was lovely. Some sailing boats, but not many. Here are a few pics, starting with the amazing magenta sunset across the sea...the view from the cottage every evening!...

Above: Views from the cottage

Above: Loutraki Port

Above: At Kastani Beach

Above: View from Glossa

Above: At Clifftop Cottage

Above: Walking to Agios Iaonnis, can you see it on the rock in the distance?

Above: Walking to the 'Mamma Mia' Church, Agios Iaonnis

Above: At Agios Iaonnis

Above: More views from the cottage

Above: Snippets from Skopelos and lazy relaxed cat guests!

Above: Loutraki... (Glossa up on the hill, in the distance).

Above: Skiathos

Sunny days! Glorious!

Bye for now,

Little Birds in Boxes

I've been making little fabric birds...

with bits of beading, feathers, leaves added...

I got little bits of wood & painted them white for branches...

Small wooden frames and painted those white too.

For the backgrounds I used different things: I had already made an etching of some blue tits, then added watercolour... so I scanned it in, printed it various sizes onto canvas paper...

I love the poem by Jacques Prévert, "Pour faire le portrait d'un oiseau". It reminds me of when I lived in Paris when I was 20...I had to learn it for a class. It suddenly came into my mind when I was sewing,  so I included that too.

"Pour faire le portrait d’un oiseau"

Peindre d’abord une cage
avec une porte ouverte
peindre ensuite
quelque chose de joli
quelque chose de simple
quelque chose de beau
quelque chose d’utile
pour l’oiseau
placer ensuite la toile contre un arbre
dans un jardin
dans un bois
ou dans une forêt
se cacher derrière l’arbre
sans rien dire
sans bouger . . .
Parfois l’oiseau arrive vite
mais il peut aussi bien mettre de longues années
avant de se décider
Ne pas se décourager
attendre
attendre s’il le faut pendant des années
la vitesse ou la lenteur de l’arrivée de l’oiseau
n’ayant aucun rapport
avec la réussite du tableau
Quand l’oiseau arrive
s’il arrive
observer le plus profond silence
attendre que l’oiseau entre dans le cage
et quand il est entré
fermer doucement la porte avec le pinceau
puis
effacer un à un tous les barreaux
en ayant soin de ne toucher aucune des plumes de l’oiseau
Faire ensuite le portrait de l’arbre
en choisissant la plus belle de ses branches
pour l’oiseau
peindre aussi le vert feuillage et la fraîcheur du vent
la poussière du soleil
et le bruit des bêtes de l’herbe dans la chaleur de l’été
et puis attendre que l’oiseau se décide à chanter
Si l’oiseau ne chante pas
c’est mauvais signe
Signe que le tableau est mauvais
mais s’il chante c’est bon signe
signe que vous pouvez signer


"To Paint a Bird's Portrait"

Paint first a cage
with the door open
next paint
something pretty
something simple
something lovely
something of use
to the bird
then put the canvas near a tree
in a garden
in the woods
or in a forest
hide behind the tree
say nothing
don’t move…
Sometimes the bird comes quickly
but it can just as well take many years
before deciding
Don’t be disheartened
wait
wait years if need be
the pace of the bird’s arrival
bearing no relation
to the success of the painting
When the bird comes
if it comes
keep very still
wait for the bird to enter the cage
and once it has
gently shut the door with the brush
then
paint out the bars one by one
taking care not to touch any of the bird’s feathers
Next paint the tree’s portrait
choosing the loveliest of its branches
for the bird
paint likewise the green leaves and fresh breeze
the sun’s scintillation
and the clamor of crickets in the heat of summer
and then wait until the bird decides to sing
If the bird does not sing
that’s a bad sign
A sign the painting is no good
but if it sings that’s a good sign
a sign you can sign

Here they are...

4 altogether.

And some close ups...

I sold 2!

Which was very exciting.

One is now hanging in our hall and the 4th is for my niece, who I should see later today.

Hope you like them!

Ciao for now,

Sculptress crush: Anna Wili Highfield, paper sculptures

Now I have some time on my hands as I have 'broken up' from teaching for the Summer, I have finally had some time to wander the web & see what's new.

Today I am loving Sydney based Anna Wili Highfield, who creates beautiful paper sculptures by sewing sections of painted paper together.

She also makes copper wire work too, reminiscent of line drawings.

Aren't they gorgeous?

Ciao for now,